Wedding Photography Bootcamp 2016 Recap

We were so overwhelmed by the amazing response and enthusiasm shown by all photographers during the last two seasons of our Wedding Photography Workshops, we just knew that we had to host a third one – but this time, we wanted to make it bigger and better! And sure enough, The Wedding Photography Bootcamp weekend was bigger, better, more power packed and comprehensive than before. It was an exhilarating experience, interacting with participants from different states and even from outside the country – the participants ranged from young budding photographers to professional wedding photographers with a few years experience!

As some of you may know, we love to talk about wedding photography. And photography in general. We love to share our experiences with fellow peers and our knowledge with those aspiring to do better. We want to reach as many people as possible to expand our market and make it better for everyone – hosting and conducting a workshop is one of the small ways in which we believe we can give back to our community.

As far as workshops go, we wanted to make ours as demonstrative, interactive and hands-on as possible. While planning the sessions, we decided that we wanted participants to really get a sense of real weddings and shooting in real conditions – we wanted to create an experience that was as close to the real deal as we could. So the only way to do that was to hire a wedding venue, re-create a wedding setup, find models to play the bride & groom and simulate a wedding – right from the couple shoot to the wedding pheras.

In addition, we had a lot of dynamic and interactive theory sessions to discuss photography styles, techniques and gear, the business of photography along with branding and marketing, simulated client meetings and how to convert leads to confirmed assignments.

To plan the event, we tried to put in as much thought so that we could cover all our bases! We started with hiring the venue, the lovely Le Meridien Gurgaon, identifying the “ideal” Mandap design+lighting and finding a good Mandap Decorator to execute it for us, hiring good models, selecting the right outfits and accessories for them and, finally, arranging a priest to “conduct” the wedding ceremony. All in all, we put in almost enough work to plan and execute a real wedding!

The bootcamp was an intense combination of dynamic discussions and live shoots. We included 7 live-shoots and simulations, where we demonstrated techniques and gave each participant a chance to shoot their vision of every aspect of a wedding.

Here’s the lowdown on what we covered and some Behind-The-Scenes photos.

Day 1 began with some general introductions and discussions about wedding photography myths, gear, techniques and couple poses. We simulated client meetings to demonstrate ways of creating a great impression on your clients, thereby increasing the chances of conversion. All of this was followed by the most interactive and dynamic discussions of all – positioning, branding and marketing. Almost everyone was stoked to learn about increasing reach and recall through marketing and social media.

We also spoke about Album Design – why albums are important, how to make the selection and design process more efficient as well as good and not-so-good design practices. Praerna got her chance to wax eloquent on her favourite subject – using stories to create brilliant album design.

Mr.Ranjit Yadav, CEO of Canvera, came in himself to talk about the changing trends in albums, the importance of design and process as well as everything that goes in to delivering a beautiful photo-book full of fond wedding memories.

After all this theory and discussion, all the tips and tricks, everyone was raring to go out and shoot. We proceeded to the Aravali Bio Diversity Park, Gurgaon, for the first Live Shoot Session: The Outdoor Pre-Wedding Couple Shoot.

We briefed the group on the basics of composition, posing and couple interaction – one of the most important aspects of a successful couple shoot is to make the couple comfortable enough to stop feeling conscious of the camera. It’s important to make them feel relaxed and natural.

Everyone was divided into groups and they all took turns, giving everyone a chance to try their hand and get feedback on their techniques and manner.

In addition to basic couple posing, lighting and techniques, we also demonstrated the use of props like coloured helium balloons, coloured smoke etc add some drama to the shots. The idea was to make the experience feel as close to one of our actual Pre-Wedding Couple Shoots.

Despite the heat of the sweltering day, it seemed like everyone had a great time and went away with some gorgeous shots of the couple in the beautiful surroundings of the Bio-D!

Day 2 began with an intensive session on photo editing and post processing – using the images shot the previous evening of the Couple Shoot, we demonstrated the basics of photo processing, shared some tips and tricks as well as discussed good workflow for data. Because everyone had images from the previous evening, we could demonstrate the process live on the screen and give them a chance to replicate and learn on their own images with real-time feedback.

After responding to the myriad questions regarding post-processing, we moved on to the real deal. The “getting ready”, boudoir shoot and bride+groom portraits. Le Meridien had secured their Presidential Suite for us to be able to demonstrate how this shoot takes place in a “real” situation, i.e. the bride & groom getting ready in a hotel suite, with the ambience to boot.

A quick briefing on posing and lighting formed the prelude of this session before we let everyone take turns in getting their shots.

Aaaaaand, we jump right in to the action. This is one of our personal favourite parts of a wedding shoot and it seems that all the participants shared our enthusiasm.

It was followed by some couple portraits in all their wedding finery and, finally, the exciting wedding ceremony shoot – complete with mandap and priest! We realise that the mandap forms the centrepiece of any Hindu wedding and never forget to appreciate the hard work that goes into creating a beautiful mandap. We tried to create one which would make a lovely backdrop to the wedding ceremony without intruding upon the real story, that of the bride and groom. We carefully chose a minimal design and enhanced it with soft lighting and our beloved mirchi lights! We truly think that these inexpensive but beautiful lights are every photographers’ favourite!

We briefed the priest to demonstrate all the high points of a Hindu Arya Samaj wedding without actually marrying the model couple off!

As always, we divided them up into groups and gave them all a chance to experiment with getting their shots and shared live feedback, tips and tricks with them.

We rounded it all up with a full group photograph of everyone who attended and was a part of making the Wedding Photography Bootcamp 2016 a great success. We had a wonderful time and can’t wait to host and conduct more of these Wedding Photography Bootcamps! To know when the next one is scheduled, subscribe to the blog by entering your email address on the top right corner, and stay tuned to the Facebook Page for updates and details.

Here are some of the actual photographs we took over the two days of the workshop.

DAY 1 – Pre-wedding Shoot!

DAY 2 – Boudoir Photography

Couple portraits before the wedding!

And last but not the least, the actual wedding ceremony!

We thank everyone who came, everyone who helped put it together and, of course, our lovely partners, Le Meridien Gurgaon and Canvera.

Arjun Kartha Photography organises Wedding Photography Workshops and Wedding Photography Seminars from time to time. To stay updated with future events, subscribe to our blog (using the box on the top right corner) or subscribe to our Facebook Page.

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Twogether Studios is a boutique wedding photography studio located in Gurgaon, India. We specialise in fun and off-beat candid wedding photography and cinematography. All images on this website are (c) TWOGETHER STUDIOS/THODA STRONG and may not be reproduced without written permission.